Kidnapped
by Miss Whip
Summary: A cross country serial killer has the attention of the FBI, but when a botched kidnapping takes Amita away, the team begins to wonder if something larger is at work. COMPLETED!
1. Chapter 1: First Blood

**Kidnapped**

By: Drakelah Whip

Rating: R (For violence, sexual content, and language)

Pairings: (Charlie/Amita) (Larry/Megan)

Summary: A cross country serial killer has the attention of the FBI, but when a botched kidnapping takes Amita away, the team begins to wonder if something larger is at work.

(This story takes place in the future; Larry is back from space, in what would probably be the fourth or fifth season)

* * *

The snow was gently falling on Detroit as Nicholas Davidson walked to his car. Piles of snow on the sidewalk had turned dirty and brown and were mixed with gravel, a feature common to urban areas.

He nodded at the parking garage attendant, the same as he did every night, and then began to climb the staircase to the third floor.

Shivering, he forced his hands into his pocket and tucked his chin into his coat. The stairwell was the only place exposed to the elements. He couldn't help but curse his decision to take the late shift.

His fingers felt the ice-cold keys in the bottom his pocket, pulling them free before he opened the door to the third floor. Somewhere in the back of his mind, that lecture his parents had given him was always repeating.

_"It doesn't matter who you are, don't linger alone in parking lots or garages."_

The quick steps he made on the ground barely echoed. A rapid scan of the area showed him only two or three other cars on the other end of the floor. The plastic handle on his car key fit neatly into the space between his thumb and first finger.

Just as he went to insert the key into the lock, something cracked hard on the back of his skull. Nicholas fell forward on the driver's side window. He could see little spots of red on the top of the car, and these little rivers of blood running down the sides.

There was pain, but his body wasn't registering it fully, the shock was mercifully sparing him a good majority of agony.

His attacker wasn't so kind however. Nick couldn't turn his body to get a look at the person before the second blow came. Unfortunately, the assault was the last thing he'd ever know.


	2. Chapter 2: Cross Country Killer

Chapter 2: Cross Country Killer

* * *

"So what do we have?" Don Epps asked, sitting down across from David. A file came sliding across the table.

"Not much, this was delivered from the Detroit office about half an hour ago."

"What is it?" He casually flipped through the pages, "If Detroit wants us to help with their crime rates, they've got another thing coming."

"32 year old Nicholas Davidson murdered last week in a parking garage."

"Isn't Detroit one of the murder capitals of the U.S.?"

"Of the world, actually." Megan entered the conference room, tossing her coat onto a nearby chair.

"Exactly, so what makes this guy special?"

"People get shot in Detroit, they get stabbed in Detroit, drug o.d.'s, you name it, but it's rare to find someone getting decapitated."

Don took a closer look at the file now, after a few moments, he asked his co-workers, "They didn't find his head?"

"No."

Megan gestured with her hand, "Even more rare."

"Yeah, I guess, but I still don't understand why we have a Michigan case."

"I can explain, Agent Epps." A male and a female agent walked into the conference room. The female agent was especially tall and strongly built, and her partner was no less of an imposing figure.

He walked to the view-screen and inserted a disk into the tower while his female counterpart made the introductions.

"I'm Agent Lucille Anderson; this is my partner, Agent Christopher Davidson."

There was the obligatory shaking of hands and the introductions. Agent Granger, who had managed to arrive during this period, was the first to recognize what the agents had just revealed.

"Davidson? Did you know the victim?"

"My older brother, it's part of the reason I took this case." There was a series of condolences from the other agents.

The screen behind them illuminated with a series of photographs. All of the L.A. agents looked at them curiously, as they were all personal photos.

"With all due respect, Agent Epps, I'd like to explain why we're here."

All except Agent Anderson took seats at the table.

"Have any of you heard about the big city murderer?"

"Yeah, it's this guy who only kills people only in cities with large populations."

"Right. We have reason to believe that this is a serial killer situation. The killer always follows the same pattern. He attacks from behind, first bludgeoning the victim with the blunt end of an axe. After the victim is incapacitated, he decapitates them and takes the head, we believe, as a trophy."

Her fingers came to gently rest on the pictures on the screen, "These are the victims we know of so far, including Nick Davidson from Detroit, the latest victim."

Both Megan and Don noticed Agent Davidson's fingers curl into a fist.

"Now, here's what we do know in terms of his patterns. This guy is working off the 2005 estimates of the biggest cities in the United States, but he's not working in any kind of order we can distinguish. He only has one victim per city, and, if there is more than one big city in any state, he'll hit all the cities within a week."

"We know this because he struck five Texas cities over two weeks before heading to Detroit."

Megan commented offhandedly, "I heard about that, the papers called it, "The Texas Axe Massacre."

"How cute." Quipped a sarcastic David.

"By the time he hit Texas, all the cities were on hit alert. But, in cities that big, you can't guard everyone. This guy is extremely good at flying under the radar."

"Where has he struck so far?"

Agent Davidson pulled a list from his front jacket pocket, "Jacksonville, Charlotte, Philadelphia, Baltimore, New York City, Memphis, Columbus, Indianapolis, Phoenix, Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, Chicago, and Detroit. In that order."

"He jumped from Indianapolis to Phoenix?"

"We don't know why at this point."

"I thought that he went from Texas to Detroit?"

"That was the original thought, but yesterday we learned that there was a victim in Chicago who had been dead for a few days."

"Once he was in Texas, you notice he hit the cities alphabetically?"

"Yeah."

"I notice that there weren't any California cities on that list." Megan leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms.

Agent Anderson threw her a knowing grin, "So you know why we're here then. Four California cities were in the top 20. San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco – "

"And Los Angeles." Murmured Colby.

"If this guy's gonna strike alphabetically, he'll hit L.A. first."

Agent Davidson turned toward him, "That's assuming he hasn't already."

Don stood up, "Alright, put out a bulletin to all police departments, I want to know if there are any suspicious characters, I want to know if we've found headless bodies, axe-bludgeoning deaths, anything."

All the agents left for the door to carry out their respective tasks, but the two new agents stopped them.

"Check axe purchases."

"Why?"

"We believe that this guy travels by plane and that he buys a new axe in every state. It's one of his little signatures; he leaves the axe behind at every crime scene."

Megan followed David's example, "That's very nice of him."


	3. Chapter 3: So Completely Logical

**Chapter 3**: So Completely Logical

* * *

Charlie rolled over in bed and instantly regretted it. While his mind often comprehended the fact that he should remain where he lay in bed to achieve maximum comfort, not often could he follow these thoughts. Especially in the morning hours.

In an instant, not only did he find that the sheets where he now lay were cold, but that a particular warmth had been removed from its place against his chest.

From what simple thoughts he could put together, he guessed that Amita would be missing that heat as well, from where he'd held her to his chest all night.

With this, he was resigned and returned to his sleeping spot…

Only to find that Amita had awoke, and was more than ready to prepare for the day.

"C'mon Charlie, we can't sleep in all morning."

"Why not?"

"We're doing those faculty tests today, remember? No classes, just needles."

Charlie cringed, he'd forgotten about the rather unwanted agenda. Reluctantly, he dragged himself up from the mattress, pulled on a pair of pajama pants and went to wait downstairs until Amita was finished showering.

His tired, bare feet slapped on every step on the way down. Alan looked up from his morning coffee and paper,

"You look less composed this morning than usual."

"Just tired, I guess."

"Sure." Alan took a sip of the coffee, "How's Amita?"

"She's good – ah, you caught me." Charlie grinned, wagging his finger at his father.

"She's spent the night here off and on for what now? Four months?"

"Just about. Am I gonna get the lecture about how I shouldn't be bringing girls home without permission?"

"I'm just glad you're bringing girls home, son."

"Gee thanks, dad." He tried to look hurt by the remark, but it wasn't as successful as he'd hoped. This didn't surprise him, as he only had a 50 chance of accomplishing it.

"So what are you doing at school today?"

"Faculty blood tests."

"Come again?"

"The university's trying to encourage the students to get tested for STDS and HIV, so they're making the entire faculty get blood tests as a persuasion tactic."

"Think it'll work?"

"Statistically, no."

Alan grinned, "You still afraid of needles?"

Charlie glanced around, "I'm getting a fever just thinking about them."

There was a chuckle, "Maybe you should wait until Amita leaves to get your test done."

"Oh I disagree; maybe she'll think I'm sensitive if I faint in front of her."

"And I thought you were the sensible one."

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Charlie and Amita were surprised to see Larry and Megan already at the office.

"Megan, what are you doing here?"

"We've got a new case for you."

"What's it about?"

"We have a guy who's killing people in the largest 20 cities of the states."

"And you think he's in California?"

"We know he's here, in L.A. I think we're going to need all three of you on this case."

"Why?"

"He's extremely random. This guy just finds someone alone and decapitates them."

Larry looked at Megan with shock at her nonchalant method of delivering the news. She glanced at him, "Desensitization, not just from TV anymore."

"And there's no connecting factor?"

"We're pretty sure this guy buys his weapon in each city, an axe. Then he leaves it there."

"He sounds like a considerate guy. Lowering the city populations while boosting the economy with his purchases."

"Now who's desensitized?" Megan nudged him playfully.

Amita watched the whole proceedings skeptically. Megan and Larry maintained the ability to flirt while discussing cases and bond over blood. She'd seen too much, and Larry didn't comprehend a lot of it; though he understood everything else.

"Well, I guess, we'll come over to the offices and see if we can find any connecting factor."

"Right now, however," Amita laced her arm with Charlie's, "We have to go participate in the faculty blood tests."

She damn near had to drag her boyfriend to the clinic. The walls were festively decorated with little dancing smiley face construction paper blood-drops. It was the result of the students in the teacher education programs trying to squeeze out some last minute creativity. Even Amita had to groan at this.

Megan and Larry were too busy gazing at each other to really take notice.

Charlie sat down across from a nurse who took his personal information and then grabbed his hand.

"What are you doing?"

"I have to take a blood sample, Dr. Eppes, to make sure you're healthy enough to give blood today." She held up a thumbtack like needle.

"Is that a – "Charlie didn't get to finish. His irrational fears overtook him. He remembered getting caught by Larry and Amita before passing out.

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(I apologize for spelling the Eppes' name wrong! Many thanks to those who pointed it out!)


	4. Chapter 4: Mishap

**Chapter 4**: Mishap

* * *

"There's just simply not enough information." Larry turned away from the blackboard in Charlie's office.

"And you know how we know that the human mind usually sees patterns? I'm not even partially finding one."

"I suppose we could try to figure out a pattern based on the parking lots."

"Nothing is constant though. We have open parking lots, we have garages. We have men, women, every race, various ages, different professions. The only thing they all have in common is that they happen to live in a city designated by the 2005 census, as one of the biggest in the U.S."

Charlie ran his fingers through his hair, and sat back on the edge of his desk, "I just can't believe there's not one other connecting factor."

"I think that must be this guy's gig," Amita shook her head, "He stays illusive because he's so random."

Larry shook his finger at the younger persons, "Perhaps the only thing we can consider is the human factor."

"Is there any way to predict human insanity?"

"This guy has already predicted it for us. He's attacking here next."

"So," Charlie tapped his fingers, "Nothing else?"

His colleagues shook their heads, "How could we not have anything?"

Amita got up and paced the room; her eyes fell on the mailbox in the corner. Some poor student worker was by nearly every day to drop off the miscellaneous letters that Charlie neglected to get every day. The office managed to cut him some slack on that issue.

There was a peculiar set of white envelopes with the seal of the student medical services. She daintily plucked up the one with her name, folded it, and stuffed it into her back pocket. A certain voice in her mind was counting her blessings over the fact that she had gotten to the letters first.

Charlie and Larry were great coworkers, but so curious and absent minded that they often decided to pry through the mail and personal business of others. There were times when Amita had nearly pushed Larry out of his chair because he had lectured her on some of her spending habits in her bank statements.

She tossed Charlie's letter onto his desk, "Care to see if you're dying soon?"

He smirked, "I'll have you know that I am in perfect health. Well, as perfect as the modern human can be, what with the percentage of particles in the air, the average rate of diseases forming in unstable cells."

"It's late," Amita swung her carrying bag up over her shoulder, "I'm gonna go home and sleep."

Charlie looked up, a little dismayed, but she quickly countered with a kiss, "I just need to focus on sleeping tonight, you and I are fine."

There was his lovesick, sleepy looking kind of a grin he got when he realized he was still loved, and loved well.

She pulled on her jacket, tightened her grip on her purse, and walked out of her and Charlie's office.

The resounding clacks of her heels on the linoleum and then the pavement followed her out of the building. They did comfort her somewhat, especially with the cases these days. She wasn't too worried. The parking lots were videotaped and well-lit.

Her keys jangled in her right hand. Every step or so, she tossed them into the air and caught them expertly. Like a trained professional, her eyes were moving back and forth, searching for any sign that there was danger nearby.

Nothing was really peaking her interest.

One of the streetlamps flickered a few times. She looked over at it while she opened her car door. When she looked over back at her car, she caught the image in the review mirror just in time.

Amita threw herself to the ground, barely missing the blow of the axe. The blade sunk into the roof her car, and clung to the metal. She tried to roll underneath her car, but a gloved hand grabbed the collar of her shirt. The cloth on her jacket was scrapped up fairly well.

She struggled to get to her feet and turn herself around. Her heels broke off her shoes, and the fronts gave her little traction. The killer was pulling her backwards, out of the light.

Opening her mouth to scream, she felt the heavily gloved hand cover her mouth. The padding was so thick that when she tried to bite, the effort was useless to continue. Thinking better of it, she reached back and grabbed the legs behind her, jerking hard.

Luckily, she caught the assailant at a weak moment, and sent them tumbling over onto their side.

"Damnit!" She heard the person exclaim, and the voice made her look backward as she crawled away.

The person reached for her again, and Amita grabbed the arm and dug her nails into the flesh. She ripped and tore the skin when the killer tried to pull back.

Infuriated, the assailant grabbed at the hand and used it to fling themselves forward. Amita felt a knee slam into her upper thighs and pin them to the ground. She was slapped hard across the face.

Using her last resort, Amita managed to rip the mask on the face of her attacker.

She was in shock and mouthed the word, "What?" before she realized that her hesitation had lost her the fight.

The killers' eyes looked at her with a strange look, one that was almost sad. A cloth was placed over Amita's nose, and the last thing she thought was how often that chloroform was used to knock people out.


	5. Chapter 5: Secret

**Chapter 5:** Secret

* * *

Morning found Charlie Eppes in bed alone, curled up underneath the covers and hugging a spare pillow in place of his lover / colleague.

Dawn found Amita's car parked at her house, with the metal carefully hammered back into place as much as could be expected. From a distance, you wouldn't know that it had ever been struck. The doors were locked; Amita's morning cup of coffee that she'd left there had been removed, emptied and hid under the seat. The keys to the car had been carefully dropped into the mail slot through her door.

Anyone who wasn't looking for anything suspicious would be satisfied that Amita was merely sleeping inside.

At this point, Dr. Eppes wasn't looking for anything suspicious, and the window to retrieve Amita had passed.

As lunch approached, Charlie was being to wonder about Amita's whereabouts just as she was beginning to fully wake up.

She had never been fully unconscious. Her attacker was smart, especially in chemistry. They hadn't wanted to kill her, and Amita had ridden along, blindfolded, gagged, and dizzy.

The chloroform had worn off into a deep sleep. When she finally opened her eyes, she was still unable to speak, but was able to see that she was in the basement of what appeared to be some abandoned commercial building.

Detecting the tray of food they had left for her, she moved over to reach it and found that her right arm and both ankles were chained around the various pipes in the wall. Luckily, the tray was in reach and once she finished eating, she decided to try out the restraints. Despite appearing extremely old and rickety, they were strong and the metal was unforgiving.

Amita sat back against the cold wall and curled her legs up to her chest, folding her arms around them. Her mind, having completely regained all its cognitive faculties, could not comprehend what she'd seen the night before. It made no sense.

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Charlie pulled into a parking spot near Amita's car. He got out of the car and walked past it to the door. He knocked hard on the wood, assuming she would either need the wake up call, or at least, couldn't say she didn't hear him.

A few minutes passed before he slammed his fist into the door again. In truth, he would never have been so harsh, had not a certain amount of fear been building up in him. He didn't know why he was afraid; Charlie believed that intuition only applied to his mathematics.

He left the door and ran to her car, peering into the passenger side door. The coffee cup was missing, Amita usually left it in the car all day and emptied it at night.

Charlie returned to the door and pounded on it again before sprinting back to the car. He dialed Amita's cell phone, once, twice, three times. There was no answer.

Finding the side door locked, he ran around to the driver's side. He pulled on the handle only once before noticing something that had been screaming at him since he'd showed up.

His fingers ran over the carefully repaired metal gash. He brought them up to his face, and breathed a sigh of relief that they hadn't come away with a reddish brown tinge to them.

However, an immense feeling of fear gripped his chest, and he nearly pulled his cell phone apart getting it open.

"Don? It's Charlie. Amita's missing and it looks like someone cut into her car."

"I'll have a team over there in ten minutes. Stay calm, Chuck, she's probably just inside."

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Larry sat next to Charlie in the FBI conference room. Neither of the men spoke, they simply sat there with folded hands, staring at the photos on the computer monitor. Both of them could imagine Amita's picture in one of those four empty slots.

She would ironically become a statistic, meaning nothing to anyone except those who knew her best.

"Alright, as far as we know, this is still just a kidnapping. Until we get confirmation that this is the same guy, we can't assume that he took Amita."

"What about the axe mark?"

"Let's just stay positive." Don paced around the room.

Agent Anderson entered the room, "This isn't like this guy. He doesn't kidnap, he just kills."

Charlie put his head down on the table, and she paused, "Oh, I'm sorry." The response was genuinely sympathetic.

"We don't know that he's never kidnapped people. Maybe he has and the victims have been so scared, they've never come forward." Larry suggested.

"No, data has shown that most victims that are released or ransomed will talk."

"Agent Eppes?" A young FBI worker came into the conference room, "You have a phone call."

"Who is it?"

"I can't really say." The younger man looked a little more than shaken, "He just said that if he couldn't speak to you, he'd cut my head off."

"Put him on the speaker."

There was an electrical buzz and the line opened. Two technical expert agents began to trace the call immediately.

"I know you're there, Don." A heavily distorted voice came over the speaker.

Agent Anderson leaned over the table and mouthed the words, "That's him."

Don nodded, "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I just thought I'd call, we could chat."

"Sure."

Charlie and Larry huddled over the two agents, trying as quickly as they could to pinpoint the killer's location.

"It seems that, last night, somebody messed with my plans."

"Really now?"

"Quite, Agent Eppes, quite. But, I do think that I have something that you want back, very much."

All the agents looked at each other over the table. Then, a shriek of pain issued from the phone.

"Help!" It was a woman, and they imagined he must have twisted her arm pretty hard to get her to scream that way.

"Who's that?"

"C'mon Agent Eppes, I think you know."

There was a whimpering sound from the phone; it had the attention of everyone in the room now. The two agents handed Megan a note, the call was, apparently, coming from Nicholas Davidson's cell phone. Something was interfering with them tapping into the global positioning system to find its exact location however.

The agent explained, "We don't know how the signal could be so strong, but we can't detect it."

"Maybe they're just using the cell phone through another system." Charlie suggested.

"I thought you might be trying to trace the call. Sounds like things aren't going too well."

"You wanna give us a hint?"

"By the time you find this place, I'll already be gone. I can offer you some incentive though."

The woman on the phone cried out again, "Charlie!"

He bolted to the phone, "Amita?!"

"Charlie please!" After that, her voice became muffled.

"Amita!" He yelled back at the phone, but the killer's voice was all he heard.

"Dr. Eppes, I'm surprised. It's never good to let the bad guy know that he's got someone you care about."

Larry curled his hard around Megan's, squeezing it tightly.

"Now, since I missed my target, I'll keep this pretty little thing until I get what I want."

The phone clicked and went dead.

A flurry of activity followed. Don went off yelling for all available agents to move to investigate the two areas that the four minds had pinpointed as the most likely locations. The agents in the room began a heated debate over the killers' words.

"What did he mean, missed his target?"

"Whatever person he meant to kill was supposed to be wherever Amita was that night."

"He meant to kill Charlie." Larry blurted out.

Charlie turned to look at him, and everyone noticed how pale he was, "What?"

"Think about it Charlie. Amita left around the time you normally do, your car was parked right next to hers."

He felt sick and sat down on the table, his hands on his knees, "But the parking lot was well-lit, video taped. He should have been able to see that it wasn't me."

"I think this case just took on a new priority level."

Colby piped up, "Why does this guy want Charlie? I thought he just picked people randomly."

"Not necessarily." Agent Anderson walked over to the computer but neglected to touch it.

"What do you mean?" David had a hard look in his eyes.

"Nicholas wasn't the first family member of an FBI agent to be killed. All of the victims were close relatives of FBI agents."

Don looked down at the floor and waved her hand, "Why didn't you mention this before?"

"Because we needed your little brother to help solve the case. If I had told you that this guy kills the brothers and sisters of agents, then you would've hidden Charlie away somewhere."

"You're damn right I would've!" Don grabbed the woman by her collar and held her face up close to his, "My brother could have had his head taken off by a psychopath and you didn't tell me?"

"But he didn't! And if he keeps working, we'll catch this guy."

"No, all you did was get his girlfriend kidnapped and probably killed!"

Charlie suddenly looked up and with slow precise movements, he walked over to her, "If she dies, if he even hurts her, I'll kill you."

Don looked over at his brother in shock.

"He came for me, and he should've gotten me, not her."

"We can still save her if you can find out where he is!"

"And he could still kill her if he gets bored! He could go after dad or Larry, or one of the students next! He knows Amita's not his only leverage."

Don let go of Anderson, "Larry, we'll be finding a safe place for you tonight. I need two agents to go and get my father and bring him back here."

Colby and David complied. Megan looked at him, "What about the rest of our families?"

Anderson brushed off her coat, "Trust me, he wants Charlie. He wants to eliminate people who pose the greatest threat and destroy their FBI relatives in the process. Nicholas Davidson was working undercover as a drug dealer."

"And Charlie cracks people like this guy."

Larry patted Charlie on the back, "Let's go get something to drink."

Charlie nodded dumbly; he'd lost his grasp on spoken English. Megan gave Larry a kiss on the cheek before he led his friends away. Once in the kitchen, Charlie sat and ran his hands through his hair.

"Why did it have to be Amita? Not that it should be anyone, but her? Statistically, it makes no sense. No kidnaps up until now, Amita is the anomaly?"

"Charlie, you can't expect human behavior, especially those in this state of mind, to act rationally. This guy was outwitted, to his own surprise, by you. He did what most humans do, the next best thing or most logical thing."

"He knew to go for Amita?"

"I have a feeling he knew of her and knew you were connected to her."

"Why not just let her go and wait for me?"

"I'm guessing that," Larry paused long enough to hand Charlie a cup of coffee, "Amita saw him and he couldn't risk her alerting you, thereby putting the whole family under protection. Logically, he had to take her, otherwise he had no leverage and you would be out of his reach."

"You think Amita saw his face then?"

"Saw him? I wouldn't be surprised if she'd gave him a black eye."

The men shared a short-lived laugh.

"Look Charlie, I'm here for you. I know Amita means a lot to you."

"I love her. I was going to tell her that I wanted her to move in with me."

Larry laid his hand on Charlie's shoulder, trying as best he could to comfort his friend.

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"You better run this by me again." Alan smiled at the agent bringing him his food, "Because I'm a little uncomfortable right now."

"Amita's been kidnapped and we have reason to believe that the killer who took her might come after you, Charlie or Larry. So you're all under federal protection until we catch this guy."

"Why does this guy want to attack our family?"

"He wants to kill Charlie because he's helping the FBI and he's the brother of a leading agent."

"Oh God." Alan looked at his younger son, and pointed with his fork, "You are not leaving this room."

"Dad, he won't let Amita go until he gets me."

"Charlie, I know you love this girl, but isn't there a way that this could be resolved without losing you too?"

"I wish there was, but I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get her back."


	6. Chapter 6: Upping the Ante

**Chapter 6**: Upping the Ante

* * *

Amita yelped as someone woke her by kicking her hard in the thigh, "Your boyfriend is real broke up over your situation."

"What do you want with Charlie?"

There was the glint of a blade and Amita's eyes fell on a large hunting knife in the attacker's hand. The blade was waved back and forth in front of her, "Mostly, his head."

"Sorry I asked."

"In fact," The killer squatted down to sit on their haunches, "I owe you too."

Amita watched in terror as a bare and bandaged arm latched onto her only free limb. No one heard her screams of pain as the hunting knife made two long cuts from the elbow to the wrist.

"I will be fair though, that's all I owe you. Don't worry; I didn't cut you that bad."

Drawing the injured limb into her body, Amita used her restrained arm to try to mop up as much of the blood as she could. The skin color on her arm had been turned red with the precious life fluid. She was biting her lip to keep back any tears of pain, she was damned if she was gonna let this psycho see her cry.

The killer just sat there, watching her. Amita could only see a pair of eyes through the new mask.

"I already know who you are, why are still wearing the mask?"

"I haven't ruled out the possibility of beating that memory out of your head." The attacker made like they were about to smash the knife into Amita's face.

She recoiled and whimpered, trying to shield her head with her knees and arms. There was a slap to her knee, "C'mon, I don't have any real business with you."

"Why are you doing this?"

The assailant threw up her hands, "Do you think I'm gonna tell you? This is not the little Saturday morning cartoon where I reveal my evil plot right before the hero walks in and you get to bust me later. You're not very smart for a professor."

"Thanks." Amita looked away, gazing toward the door.

"Hon, I hate to tell you this, but this isn't gonna end well, don't you know that? That guy you're dating, he's gonna do the noble thing. I'd bet money, that won't let his brother and the FBI get involved. He'll come at night, hoping to get you back, and walk right to me. Oh, I'll let you go first, I won't make you watch. Then, by the time you get the police and bring them back here, I'll be halfway to my next stop with my 17th trophy."

Amita sniffed, drawing in the air to keep from crying. She imagined herself sitting alone in the office she shared with Charlie. Her mind showed her visiting his grave and crying herself to sleep at night.

A single tear slipped down her cheek. She reached up to wipe it away. The movement revealed the contents of her back pocket.

The killer snatched up the envelope, "What's this?"

"Nothing. The whole faculty had to get blood tests done for this HIV / AIDS thing, those are just my results."

"Mind if I read it? I'm getting bored."

"Go ahead, what am I gonna do? Stop you?"

"Point, Dr. Ramanujan." Using the knife, the killer sliced open the top of the letter. Almost comically, they looked around from the side of the letter, "Good news, you don't have HIV or AIDS."

"Oh."

"Geez, they tested you guys for everything."

"That's nice."

The killer was silent for awhile before finally folding up the letter, "Amita, I'm sorry things had to happen this way. If you hadn't torn my mask, I would've just left you there."

Amita didn't say anything.

"I only say that because I'm not really happy about what this has come to. You know, woman to woman, this not a nice move on my part."

"It's not a nice move on anyone's part."

"Yeah, but it's too late to go back now." The woman got up and walked over to the phone. She flipped on the voice synthesizer.

"Don't you just love these things?" Her voice now sounded like a technology garbled male voice. Any humor was lost on her captive however.

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Don patted his father on the back as he exited the FBI kitchen. Larry and Alan were having a rather intense conversation over a couple of strongly made cups of coffee.

He could see his brother up ahead. Charlie's head was bent low over his steaming coffee as he lingered in the conference room.

"You okay Chuck?"

His brother gave him a rather annoyed tired look, "What do you think?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm doing everything I can."

"I know."

Megan, Colby, and David walked in, with Agent Davidson trailing behind, "Morning everyone."

"Where's your partner?"

Davidson put his coffee cup down on the table, "She went out early this morning to check an abandoned parking garage."

"By herself?"

"No, a few LAPD went with her."

The phone on the table suddenly lit up. Don pressed the speaker button, thinking another agent was calling him.

"Good morning Agent Eppes!" A cheerfully garbled voice was on the line. Everyone in the room tensed up.

"Dr. Eppes, are you there?"

"Yes."

"Can I assume that my two little trackers have explained me to you by now?"

"You want me because I'm Don's brother."

"Good to know that Davidson and Anderson are still doing their jobs. Hi guys. Davidson, you know I still have your brother's phone?"

Davidson swallowed, "Fuck you."

There was a laugh.

"How about Anderson? You know, your partner's little sister's head is still the most beautiful in my collection."

"Anderson's not here. She's out hunting you."

"Oh, I love trading barbs with that bitch."

Don nodded his head sadly, "Oh don't we all. Now – "

"I want to talk to Dr. Eppes, actually."

Charlie leaned in, "Let me hear Amita. I want to know she's alive."

The voice turned from the phone, "C'mon dear, speak up."

Amita's voice came in over the phone, "I'm here Charlie." She sounded hurt, desperate, and scared.

Charlie closed his eyes, "I love you Amita."

"Dr. Eppes, that's so touching. Probably should have said it sooner, huh?"

"Please just let her go. I'll pay any ransom you want."

"You know that money isn't the object here. If I have enough skills to kidnap or kill without being detected, I think I could steal money. My deal will stand; I'll trade your life for Amita's and only your life."

"I bet you wouldn't mind getting your hands on Anderson and me though." Davidson interjected.

"Sweetheart, you just wait until I hit city twenty. You and Anderson will be the two bonuses on my shelf."

"Keep thinking that."

"Anyway, I wanted to sweeten the pot in Amita's favor."

"I don't understand."

"See, I want Amita to have more of a chance. I thought you did too."

Charlie remained silent and the killer chuckled.

"I know you're probably not too thrilled about the idea of trading yourself for Amita, but I think I can sway you."

There was a rustling of paper. From where she was chained up, Amita saw the killer reading over her test results. She began to panic; there must be something wrong with her. Maybe she had some disease that needed treatment and would ultimately force Charlie's hand.

"I have your girlfriend's test results and there's something very interesting."

Charlie's thoughts replicated Amita's. She must be sick.

"Don't worry, there's nothing seriously wrong with her. Instead, I think I should congratulate you, Dr. Eppes."

"What?"

"Dr. Ramanujan here is pregnant, that means you're gonna be a father." There was a sick sense of enthusiasm in the voice.

Don saw Charlie's eyes briefly light up before sinking into a depression even deeper than before.

"Oh my God." Larry had just entered the room. His mouth hung open in shock. Megan, along with all the other agents stared on in disbelief, especially Don. He wanted to be able to congratulate his brother and relish in the prospect of being an uncle, but he couldn't.

Amita lifted her head from where she'd laid it against the wall and looked over at her captor. The masked woman walked back over to her and handed her the results.

Her fingers flew down the list of negatives, until she saw the only positive. Then came the tears she had tried so hard to hold back.

Don was on the phone now, "Wait, how do we know this isn't some kind of a sick joke or something?"

"Tell them." The phone was being held up to her ear.

"It's true Don, it's right here on my test results."

"See Agent Eppes?"

"You could be forcing her to say that."

"Agent Eppes, I can always send her back not pregnant either way. Then it won't matter if I lied or not."

"Don, trust me!" Amita's voice came in over the speaker at the FBI office, "If she gets Charlie, the baby is all I'll have left!"

Charlie's eyes were so pained it was hard to look at them.

Agent Davidson looked at Don, "It's a woman?"

"This doesn't fit the profile." Megan noted, "She's like a long range Lizzie Borden."

"I made up my mind." Charlie was speaking to the killer.

"And?"

"You return Amita and the baby unharmed, you can have me. I'll come quietly, no tricks, no FBI, nothing."

"Deal. I'll send a letter with instructions." The phone went dead.

"You see? I told you. He took the noble, self-sacrificing route. Mathematically, Dr. Ramanujan, it makes sense. Two potential lives in exchange for one."

Amita leaned her forehead to her knees and wrapped her arms around her stomach. Every word drew new tears from her already strained eyes.


	7. Chapter 7: To the Slaughter

**Chapter 7**: To the Slaughter

* * *

The letter had arrived later on that evening, in the hand of an elderly gentleman. Megan recognized the man from an old printing shop, he specialized in calligraphy.

It followed that the man had written the letter under duress, and while the letters were beautiful, he collapsed of a heart attack before he could tell anyone what he'd seen. The killer had scared him so badly, that in his 80 years of age, he couldn't take the excitement.

"Kind of extreme measures to go to avoid a handwriting analysis." Megan commented.

Anderson had showed back up when the sun had begun to set, "I didn't find a damn thing."

Megan handed her the note, "This just came in."

"I just wish we had something to compare it to." The female agent rubbed her temples, "A goddamn fingerprint might be nice."

"Why are you on this case?" Don asked her.

She looked at him, "My boss, back in New York, had actually been prepared for this guy. He'd figured it out early, that the guy wanted the siblings of the top agents. So he put me in charge of watching his younger sister. The girl was eighteen, she had just graduated. There was a secondary objective in not putting her in protective custody."

"She was being used as bait." David murmured.

"Yeah, against my better judgment and my boss's, but I was the second in command and had guarded the witnesses to Mafia trials. I was the best."

All the agents stared at each other, they knew what was coming.

"So I had one little lapse in judgment and the next thing I know, I'm carrying a headless body, covered in blood to a New York ambulance while my boss has a breakdown."

"Christ." Colby said.

"I promised my boss that I would find the bastard that did this and give his little sister peace."

"That's why either you or Davidson was missing each day."

"We were watching Charlie; we didn't think to keep our eyes on Amita as well."

"You didn't know." There was a soft murmur from Charlie.

"We can't let you go there alone." Stated Don, folding his arms.

"If this girl sees you, then she might hurt Amita."

"No, she won't see us. You draw her out and we'll be there."

"I only want the plan that will work best for Amita, regardless of how it affects me."

"Charlie, I'm not letting you go in there alone, end of story.

The two brothers engaged in a more steel-eyed version of a staring contest than had ever been seen before.

"The note says we have until tomorrow night at midnight to put a plan together. That's when she's demanding Charlie."

"Does it say where?"

"No. All it says is for Charlie to go to this street corner and then someone else will bring the address."

"Undoubtedly, someone who has no idea they'll be doing it yet."

"Let's get some sleep then." Suggested Alan, "I think we'll all need it for tomorrow."

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With too FBI agents posted right outside the door and one inside, Larry, Alan, and Charlie spent a fitful night tossing and turning on their cots. Larry had gotten the most sleep out of all, but Charlie and Alan had spent the night wrapped in their own thoughts.

Don was supposed to be with his family, but had spent most of the night pacing the halls of the FBI offices. He wasn't too worried about the lack of sleep affecting his work; he'd gone three days, successfully, on only a few hours. Right now, his mind was too concerned with the welfare of his brother, the girl who would probably be his future sister-in-law, and his unborn niece or nephew.

When dawn finally showed itself, Don had figured out that he would take Colby, Granger, Anderson, Davidson, Megan, and himself to go with Charlie. He would put back-up nearby but far enough out of range so as not to be detected.

There was a meeting in the conference room around ten that night. It was the first time Charlie had left his room all day. The agents lined the tables, while Charlie sat the furthest away, flanked by his father and Larry.

Don's eyes kept falling back to his brother while he outlined his plans. Charlie seemed to be miles away, contemplating his life, the end of which seemed fated only two hours away.

"Now, Charlie gets the instructions at 11:30, he has a half an hour to get to the location. The kidnapper has agreed not to hurt Amita if she gets Charlie without intervention. I think that if we let Charlie go in, distract the killer, we can take this girl out and get both of them back without any problem."

He hesitated over the next statement, "My brother has asked that Amita be saved first, if it's necessary. We must take all precautions to retrieve Dr. Ramanujan safely and make sure that she is not harmed in any way."

The agents all nodded.

Alan stood up, "I hope no one here minds, but I was wondering if I could speak to my sons in private?"

Without any objection, everyone left the room.

The father sat down opposite his two sons, "Charlie, I know you love Amita, but you have to accept Don's help. He's the best chance you have."

"I know it doesn't seem logical dad, but this guy wants me and Amita will get out unharmed for sure."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm proud that you're taking the chivalry route, but I just think I'd rather take the chance of getting both of you back. I don't want to lose one of my sons."

"Dad – "

"I've… I've come to terms with Don's job, but it makes me uncomfortable every time he goes on any type of raid. Now, you're telling me that I have to put you out there, without training, in a similar situation? Forgive me if I'm a little nervous."

Charlie sighed, "I'm not doing without good reason."

Don looked at his brother, unsure if they wanted to reveal the news.

"Dad," Began Charlie, "There's something you don't know about."

Alan leaned in, wondering what could suddenly make Charlie choose death over tactical maneuvers.

"Amita's pregnant, and I'm the father."

Their father was silent before falling forward and putting his face in his hands, "Oh God, Charlie. Why didn't you say anything before?"

"I know, I messed up."

It's not that, I mean, you could lose a child or that child could lose its father."

"I'd rather have the child lose me. Even if I'm not around, I still want to know that my child is."

Both his father and brother nodded.

"If I don't come back, you guys will take care of Amita and the baby right? Get her citizenship finalized and be there for her?"

"Charlie, you know you don't have to ask something like that. This is my grandchild we're talking about here." Explained Alan, "I'll try to see if I can get Amita to move in to the house."

"This kid will never want for anything." Don assured him.

A silence fell over the group, "Thanks guys."

The younger brother got up and gazed out the window, "You know, there's a distinct possibility that I won't be around to see my own little daughter or son."

Alan and Don stared down at the table.

"I know Amita will be a great mom, god knows she's straightened out me and Larry enough times. I'm kind of hoping, especially if I'm not around, that the kid won't be like me."

"Charlie – "Alan got up.

"I mean, think about it. Amita having to send the kid to special schools and get special tutors and still work at the university? Mom at least had you to support her, but Amita would be all alone." When Charlie turned around, there were tears in his eyes.

"Chuck," Don walked over to his brother, "She said that she wanted the baby, because if you died, it would be all she'd have left of you."

The two brothers embraced each other, and Alan hugged his youngest son after.

"I'm gonna do my best to get both of you out of there."

Charlie nodded, and took a final glance out of the window, "I know."

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Charlie couldn't keep from looking over his shoulders every couple of seconds. The streetlamp above his head shone brightly on him. It felt like this uncomfortable beacon, pointing him out to the world.

He took a look at his watch. 11:29:58. There was a business man walking toward him.

Unconsciously, he took a step backward, but the man walked right up to him. He was close enough to see the fear in Charlie's face, and Charlie could see the swollen cheek and blacked eye.

The eyes of the hidden FBI agents were drilling into his head.

The man didn't speak, he opened his briefcase, pulled out a sheet of paper, and handed it to Charlie, and walked right on by. Zombie-like, the man continued into the evening, never to be seen again.

A few notes were scribbled at the top, with a crudely drawn map at the bottom. It was obviously not the work of the killer, but of a man who had worked in the cut-throat world of business and been scared so ferociously that he couldn't hold a pen steady.

He began to walk to the destination indicated, and found that he was being led into the parts of Los Angeles that he wouldn't go into during the daytime.

It was bad enough, having a decapitating axe murderer waiting on you, but the prospect of not making it to the location was somehow worse.

True to her word, the killer was right about it being nearly half an hour to the destination.

He stood in front of an abandoned warehouse and felt the logical absurdity of his being afraid when what he was doing what was right. Morally and mathematically.

The watch flashed a day-glow green hue, 11:58:00. Two minutes for the agents to get in place, two minutes that Amita and himself were guaranteed life and security.

It was then that he got a glimpse of his brother out of the corner of his eye.

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Don and the others hung back in the shadows, they hadn't made a sound. He motioned for Anderson and Davidson to head around the back, while Colby and David broke up to cover the sides. He and Megan would run in the front door directly after Charlie.

Megan even got around Charlie without him even spotting her, and the pair inched ever further toward the door.

Colby and David tried their best to keep concealed. Both men made a path to stand beneath the row of windows lining the warehouse sides. It would prove an easy escape route for a fleeing killer if the men weren't posted there.

From behind him, Colby heard a small scraping of gravel. He couldn't even turn around fast enough. A large blunt object slammed into the back of his head, sending him into unconsciousness.

On the other side of the building, David managed to turn around, he began to speak, but his voice didn't come through. His lips formed the words, "What the hell?" Before he was struck and his body crumpled to the ground in the alleyway.

No one had heard a thing.

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Around the front of the building, Charlie pulled on the handle to the door, and it screeched loudly in protest. He pulled hard on the large steel frame, forcing the door completely open. A cursory look inside showed him nothing.

He took a deep breath and stepped inside.


	8. Chapter 8: The Lion's Den

**Chapter 8**: The Lion's Den

* * *

Charlie took a few experimental steps. He could tell that he was in some sort of hallway, possibly between two offices. There were only a few feet, then a heavily padlocked door, and a few more feet. The walls had lost much of their paint; he guessed they might have been a bright white at one time or another. The distressed cinder blocks looked like the entryway on some sadistic video game one of his students might play.

Light was barely dripping in through the circular windows at the end of the hall. On old hinges hung a pair of those thin metal doors that one might see when walking into a cooler or a meat storage locker. Every step was tentative but very resigned, and when his hand touched the door frame, there was a chill he couldn't explain.

Once he pushed the door open, he noticed the enormity of the room. Two small tables were bolted to the floors on either side of the room. The room was lined with windows, letting in enough moonlight to see the graffiti covered walls.

Charlie took a glance to his left, his unprotected side and saw nothing. He propped the door open and listened hard. Over near to the back left of the warehouse, something moved. Without thinking it through entirely, he moved away from the safety of the hallway entry.

"Dr. Eppes, I'm glad you kept your promise." The voice was still synthesized.

"Where's Amita?"

Surprisingly a flashlight lit up the figure of Amita back where Charlie had seen something move. She was bound to a chair, gagged, and blindfolded.

"Amita?" He called, and she lifted her head in his direction.

"Charlie?" Came her muffled reply.

"Okay, you got me, now let her go!" Yelling his request to an unknown person, he was praying that Don and Megan were at least inside the hallway.

"She's right there, Dr. Eppes. I promise you I won't interfere."

Still looking around him, he raced to the back of the warehouse and began working on the knots around Amita's feet. They came undone almost too easily and he moved around to those restraining her arms around behind her and the chair. When they finally were loosed, he untied her gag and blindfold.

When the cloth of blindfold finally slid off and fell to the ground, Amita lunged forward and kissed him. Only a few seconds later, she shoved him hard and both of them fell backward.

An axe came crashing down, cutting the chair into two parts. Both Amita and Charlie got up quickly and sprinted to the other side of the warehouse.

"You said you wouldn't interfere!" Accused Charlie, as he rejoined with Amita and they ducked under the far table.

"I said I wouldn't interfere. That man isn't me."

The axe wielder turned around slowly, "There's only two places to hide in this room, do you think I don't know where you are?" He held the axe in one hand and tapped the blunt end in his other hand menacingly.

"I'm guessing you didn't come armed, Dr. Eppes."

Charlie whispered to Amita, "Stay here." He then made a dash for the back door, only to find it locked with two different types of chains.

Looking up, he saw the axe wielder running toward him, his weapon raised and glinting in the moonlight. Despite being overwhelmed by fear, Charlie remained in place.

It wasn't until the weapon came down that he finally ducked to the left and moved back into the shadows. He watched, expectantly, but his plan had failed.

The axe had struck too high, merely cutting into the door and missing the chains completely.

"Shit." He whispered, but kept watching. The masked man struggled to remove the axe from where it had become lodged.

Running toward the front door, he began to yell, "Don! Hurry!"

The pair needed no further encouragement, and Don and Megan burst through the swinging doors.

"FBI! Freeze!" Don shouted in his most commanding voice.

The synthesizer came again, "Dr. Eppes, you broke our deal. Now I can't be responsible for what happens to your girlfriend."

A single shot was fired and it struck the table that Amita was hiding under. She shrieked in fear.

"Amita!" Charlie yelled and began back across the floor.

"Charlie, don't!" Megan called after him, but the warning was too late.

A second shot hit the young brother square in the back, and sent him falling forward. Don's eyes went wide when Charlie didn't get up.

His partner nudged him, "Where'd the axe guy go?"

A deep gash in the door was the only reminder that a psychotic madman had been there.

"Damnit. Where the hell are Colby and David?"

"I don't know." They stood back to back, guns ready.

The crack of a gunshot rang out, and Don felt a searing pain in his shoulder. The bullet had managed to bypass his shield and struck his dominant arm. He tried to steady the gun with his other hand, but the effort, to say the least, was excruciatingly painful.

Out of nowhere, another chair came flying at Megan, and it knocked her to the floor. Landing on her back, she fired into the darkness. There was a grunt and someone hit the ground. She was on her feet again in no time, ready to shoot again.

Amita looked out from her vantage point. Charlie was lying on the ground only a foot out from the table. She crawled forward onto the floor and grabbed his hands. Quickly, she pulled him backwards underneath the safety of the table. Flipping him over onto his back, she stroked his cheek, "Charlie?"

His eyes opened rather quickly and he looked back and forth.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm wearing bulletproof armor." He whispered.

Her hand covered her mouth in surprise, "You scared the hell out of me."

"Don't say anything; I want them to think I'm dead."

She nodded and huddled down next to him.

Megan turned to Don, "I called backup, they should be coming."

"When?"

"A few minutes maybe. If Colby and David were here…"

"I know." He gripped his injured shoulder. The psycho synthesizer voice was laughing in the distance.

"I think she's up on that balcony, but I can't see her."

Don saw his only chance, "C'mon." He and Megan ran and dove under the second table.

Two bullets struck the ground in their wake, nearly missing Megan's legs.

"We can't hide under here for long." Remarked Don.

"Just until backup arrives."

"No." He pointed upwards. Whoever was on the balcony was messing with the metal grids that were already hanging precariously over them.

"Move!" Megan shouted as she and Don took off at opposites directions when a large piece of metal crushed the table they were under.

Megan was grabbed from behind, and an arm wrapped itself around her neck and began to choke. She was pulled back, further into the darkness.

Don tried to shoot with his unfamiliar arm, but was already unsteady and losing the visual fast. He didn't trust himself not to hit Megan in the process.

Reaching down, he removed the gun he carried in his leg strap and slid it across the floor to Amita and Charlie.

Charlie snatched up the gun instantly and tried to remember everything his brother had ever tried to teach him about how to shot a gun.

Amita kissed him hastily and pulled him close, whispering in his ear. When the embrace was broke, he looked stunned, "You're kidding."

She shook her head, "I saw them myself. Maybe it'll distract him long enough."

He studied the angles on the floor, "If we were struck here, and here, and the shooter managed to hit Don accurately from that vantage point…" Charlie trailed off, his brain working overtime, "Then the only place the shooter can be is – "

The younger brother jumped out from under the table, aimed quickly and took what was literally a shot in the dark.

There was a scream of pain and a metallic screech. Part of the balcony was suffering under a sudden stress of weight. If Charlie had to guess, he would have said that his hit had placed the shooter into an unsafe area.

Silence filled the room again, the only sound being the gasping voice of Megan as she was deprived of more and more oxygen.

Charlie aimed the gun again, and there was a pause while he found his voice. He swallowed and gestured at the masked axe wielder.

"Davidson, let her go."

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	9. Chapter 9: Finality

**Chapter 9**: Finality

* * *

"Agent Davidson?" Don asked his brother.

Charlie nodded without taking his eyes off the man, "Amita told me."

The masked man laughed, "Like you got the balls to shoot me. You might hit your friend here."

"He doesn't have to; backup is already on the way."

"But will they get here fast enough?" He tightened his grip around Megan's throat. Her eyes were beginning to roll back into her head and her skin was gaining a blue tinge.

Her grip on her gun finally faltered, and it clattered to the ground. Davidson pushed it back behind him with his foot. Megan made a last ditch attempt to try to elbow him in the side, but he held on to her arms with his other hand. A sudden tremor in her knees alerted Don that she was closer to death than ever before.

"I don't have to shoot you." Charlie murmured to himself, taking his eyes off the man and gazing up into the balcony. The one edge was still hanging dangerously, attached only by a single bar.

The chances of him hitting that bar with what shots he had were odds that he didn't think it was smart to take. Without any other options however…

Charlie took the best aim he could, imitating his brother every step of the way. His mind worked mathematically. If the sight of the gun could be lined up directly, then he might have a chance.

He took four quick shots and heard the metal crack.

There was the momentary allowance of a small grin of success before, the need to watch the results of his actions set in.

Whoever he had shot on the balcony gave a small cry of surprise, and the large metal structure fell to the ground.

Davidson threw Megan; face first, into the wall and dove out of the way. The end of the walkway landed on her legs, pinning her to the ground. She gasped and sucked in air at a rapid pace. Her air hunger was battling the crushed bones in her legs for control of her mind's pain center. There was one thing that caught her attention; the gun she'd dropped was within arm's reach. Picking it up, she tried to see through the dusty cloud that had formed.

Seeing that Charlie was distracted, Davidson barreled straight for him. Charlie raised the gun and pointed it at him, but he hesitated. Maybe the guy was right, and he couldn't shoot.

A single gunshot rang out and everyone froze. Almost in slow motion, Charlie felt a few warm droplets fall on his hands. Little red droplets.

Davidson fell forward, a single shot to his head having taken him out.

Megan, on her side, had dealt the fatal blow. Don began to approach her, but he froze mid-step.

Bleeding from a shot to her side, her gun extended in her blood-soaked palm, Agent Anderson walked coolly over the wreck of the balcony. She came to rest on the part crushing Megan's legs, and delivered a kick to the Agent's face, sending the gun flying and the already overextended Megan into unconsciousness.

She began to fire at Charlie, unloading her entire clip. He sprinted across the floor trying his best to avoid her bullets. When nothing struck him, Don smirked. The wound in her side must be a lot more damaging than she was letting on.

"Fuck!" She cursed the young professor. Thinking better of it, she pointed her gun at the table where Amita was hiding and quickly replaced the clip.

"Stand still or I kill the girl."

She had his attention, and he came to a screeching halt.

"You," She indicated Don, "Get over next to your brother."

Disgustedly, she walked right up to Charlie and ripped the guns from him and his brother, keeping hers trained on Amita.

"Call yourself FBI?"

"You're one to talk." Don shot back.

Using his own gun, she held it up to his head, "Don't make me."

"C'mon, you don't want Don."

"Charlie, shut up."

"That's good advice, Agent Eppes, you'd do well to listen to him, Dr. Eppes, or so help me I'll bring her out here, shoot her right in the fucking stomach and make you watch her die."

Charlie clenched his teeth, holding back his urge to simply hit Anderson, regardless of the results. Anderson put the guns into her belt and reached down to pat down Don's legs. She found nothing on his person that indicated to her that he was hiding anymore guns. Don wished she was wrong.

"Dr. Ramanujan, come here please."

"Don't do it!" Charlie yelled. Anderson punched him in the stomach, sending him to his knees, "I told you to shut up, Don told you to shut up, how can a genius be so damn dense?"

"Now, Dr. Ramanujan, you can come over and maybe I'll let you go, or you can die over there."

"Alright." Amita crawled out from under the table, her hands raised.

"Right here."

Once Amita was standing with Don and Charlie, Anderson moved the gun back and forth, aiming it at each one's head, "You know that if I had gotten you, we could all be on our way right now. But you had to unmask me and I can't let you go."

She shot Don in his other shoulder. He ended up on his back, gritting his teeth, "You're really good, Agent Eppes, so I want to put you out of commission first."

"Wait, just, please, tell us why you're doing this." Begged Charlie, trying to buy some time.

"Your girlfriend asked the same question. What did I say?"

Amita responded, "That this isn't a Saturday morning cartoon where you reveal your evil plan."

"See, I think she's smarter. Got more common sense than you do, anyway. Come on, can't you just accept that this is all insanity?"

"But you targeted certain people in certain cities. You must have some reason!"

"FBI freeze!" Five backup agents burst through the front door.

Anderson didn't even bother to turn around.

"Drop your weapon!"

She leaned into Charlie and Amita, "Sometimes, there is no method to the madness." Grinning, she aimed the gun at Amita. Both of the professors closed their eyes.

"I said, drop your weapon!"

A crack rang out, and Amita yelled in fear. Charlie tightened his grip on her, but nothing happened. Opening their eyes slowly, they saw Agent Anderson, lying motionless on her back in front of them. There was a pool of blood forming around her head.

Don looked over at them, "She shot herself."

Charlie pulled Amita into an embrace and held her for what seemed like hours. Clean-ups agents filled the warehouse all around them. Don and Megan were taken out on stretchers by the paramedics; Anderson's body was picked up and sealed in that foreboding black bag.

Little flashbulbs went off as various tags were placed on pools of blood or shell casings. People were talking all around them, but they heard nothing. It wasn't until an agent walked up to them and directed them over to the paramedics that they came back to reality.

Arm in arm, they walked to the ambulance and climbed in the back with Don.

His older brother grinned at them, "Glad it's all over?"

"Yeah." Charlie kissed Amita's forehead and she smiled for the first time in days.

"I'm glad you're still here."

* * *

Please review and tell me what you think! 


	10. Chapter 10: Aftershock

**Chapter 10**: Aftershock

* * *

Charlie, Alan, and Larry sat in the hospital waiting room. Oddly enough, Charlie was the only one that had been cleared as not-injured from the encounter.

Early on, to prevent his father's panicking, Charlie had told his father that Don had only been shot in the shoulders, nowhere vital to life.

With Larry, his news was less promising. The older professor had been silent for half an hour when Charlie had confessed that Megan was suffering crushed legs and hadn't regained consciousness during the entire end of the fight.

Himself, he didn't know if he had any concerns. In the ambulance, he'd noticed two disturbing gashes on Amita's arm.

Alan sat there, twirling his thumbs and observing the two professors. Charlie had resorted to something very old. He had pulled out a pad of paper and began to work on various math problems. A few times, Alan had seen something resembling P vs. NP, and had taken the equations away for a minute. This had set Charlie pacing and Alan relinquished the paper.

An extremely young woman came out from the restricted area doors, "Dr. Eppes? Mr. Eppes?"

They looked at her in shock, "You're the doctor?"

She shook each of their hands, "Yes, I'm Dr. Matthews, a prodigy, not unlike yourself, Dr. Eppes. I'm working on all the FBI agents and Dr. Ramanujan."

"All of them?"

"Because of the circumstances and the FBI priority lists, yes."

"So, you're that good?" Alan asked.

She smiled, "I guess, but I do have some information for you regarding Don Eppes."

Both men leaned in, "Agent Eppes has had to undergo some minor surgery to remove the bullets, but everything went smoothly. The bullets didn't hit any bones, and we expect him to make a full recovery and return to work as soon as he's healed."

There was a pause while she flipped through her files, "Dr. Fleinhardt?"

"Yes?" Larry stood up and walked over to Dr. Matthews.

"Agent Reeves has listed you as one of her primary contacts, were you aware of that?"

"Yes."

"Agent Reeves is still in surgery at this point. She sustained multiple fractures in both legs and has a concussion. Now, we do expect her legs to fully heal, most the breaks were clean, but she's going to need to stay here for a few days for recovery and monitoring for her concussion. It will be quite some time before she can return to active duty, but I believe she can work in the office after she's in her cast and stabilized."

"So, she's okay?"

"Yes, brain waves are good, we expect no permanent damage. Are you able to help care for her when she leaves the hospital?"

"I'll do anything." Larry sighed in relief, and pressed his palms together, touching the tips of his fingers to his forehead. A characteristic sign of his joy.

"What about Amita?" Charlie asked, his look was desperate.

"Dr. Ramanujan appears to be physically fine. She is receiving stitches for the two cuts in her arm. Are you aware that she's pregnant?"

"Yes, I'm the father."

"That's what she told us, I just wanted to confirm that. Right now, we're running a bunch of tests to determine the health of the unborn child."

"Do you think everything's okay?"

"Well," Dr. Matthews rubbed the back of her neck, "About ten minutes after she was admitted, there was cause for concern when we noticed some bleeding."

"You think she might – "

"I don't have the latest results with me, but I fear that the stress of the encounter may have brought on a miscarriage."

Charlie looked down at the ground and rubbed his brow. He'd lost the ability to speak.

"Dr. Eppes, I have my two best doctors working to prevent it. Her care will be handled by me after she's stabilized and the bleeding stops."

Alan placed his hand on his son's shoulder, "I'm sure it'll be alright, Charlie."

"Would you like to come see your brother? Maybe it'll take your mind off things for awhile."

Charlie nodded dumbly and allowed himself to be led out of the room and down the hallway. Dr. Matthews led them to a recovery room, "I'm going to go check on the progress of Agent Reeves' surgery and Dr. Ramanujan."

"Hey dad!" Don was sitting up in bed; Colby and David were standing next to his hospital bed.

"Donnie, how are you?" Asked his father, walking over and patting his son on the knee. Alan would have normally patted the shoulder, but under the circumstances, it was not a good option.

"I've been better."

"Well, if this is the worst that happened, I'm glad."

"So am I."

Alan gestured to the two other agents, "What about you two? Didn't you guys get hurt?"

David grinned, "We're lucky, just got whacked on the back of the head."

"We have to stay with another agent tonight, just to make sure there are no lasting effects, and we're not supposed to work for a week."

"Have you guys heard anything about Amita and Megan?"

Larry actually took the reigns, "Megan's legs are broke, she's in surgery and they're going to keep her for a couple of days. The doctor said she should be okay though."

"What about Amita?" Don's questions continued.

"The doctor said that she started bleeding after she was admitted, and she might miscarry the baby." Charlie just looked off to the side.

Colby looked down, "I'm sorry."

His brother was similarly stunned, "Chuck, that's awful."

"Well, might, the doctor only said, might." Alan assured them all.

David and Colby looked at each other, "So, tell us what happened in there. No one's told us anything."

"What happened to Anderson and Davidson?"

Don and Charlie looked at each other, shocked, "No one told you?"

"We were out until the hospital, and the doctors didn't say anything."

With Alan and Larry listening in as well, Charlie and Don related the whole of the events in the warehouse.

Time passed rapidly, and two nurses wheeled a motionless form into the room. They went about the business of connecting machines and reattaching IV bags to the stands.

Larry perked up, "Megan!"

He went to her and held her hand. The nurse looked at him, "She won't wake up for at least forty five minutes, and it'll take a full hour before she's fully lucid enough to even know you're here."

Nodding, he tightened his grip on her hand, "I'll wait with her, if that's alright."

"Are you family?"

"She's my girlfriend."

Across the room, Alan raised his eyebrows. Larry and Megan had been dating informally for about a year, including their dedication over his space flight. Publicly though, neither had referred to the other in such terms. The sentiment was beyond endearing.

Fifteen more minutes passed, all of them with Charlie at the window, gazing out over L.A. Behind him, the door opened.

"Dr. Eppes?" There was no doubt that the voice belonged to Dr. Matthews.

"Yeah?"

"Can you take a walk with me?"

He turned finally, "Sure." As he passed by the agents and his father, he saw a serious look in all their eyes.

Out in the hallway, as he marched stoically alongside the young woman, he realized that she would have given him good news in front of everyone; especially as the potential uncle and grandfather were there.

"Where are we going?"

"I'm taking you to the maternity ward. Dr. Ramanujan was moved there after we stopped the bleeding for an ultrasound."

They jumped on an elevator with two nurses. Both of them seemed to know Dr. Matthews and they conversed happily for a few minutes.

Once the nurses jumped off, he turned to her, "How can you be so happy?"

"Your brother is an FBI agent; I assume he's detached emotionally? So are some doctors. I can't even drink yet, if I can't drown my sorrows in alcohol, I need to not be emotional."

"I wouldn't advise you to turn to alcohol. Can you please tell me something?"

The bell dinged, "Let's get to the room first."

They kept walking, down the hall. When they passed the large glass windows of the nursery, Charlie kept his eyes straight forward.

Stopping outside one of the doors, Matthews turned to him, "I have already informed Dr. Ramanujan of everything I'm about to tell you, so you don't need to feel like you need to break any news. Sometimes it's best if couples can grieve silently without having to say a word."

"Grieve?"

"It turns out that Dr. Ramanujan was pregnant with twins."

"Twins?"

"Yes," She paused, "The stress of the encounter, however, caused her to miscarry one of the twins."

"How could she have lost just one?"

"It has happened before, Dr. Eppes. In about half an hour, I'll come back to do another ultrasound to check on the remaining twin. So far though, it looks like the other baby is doing just fine."

"Is anyone else in there then?"

"I thought you two could use some time alone."

Charlie went inside faster than Matthews could take two steps away.

Amita was lying on the examination table. Her head was propped up with a hospital pillow, and her hands were placed protectively on her stomach.

"Hey." He said, walking toward her.

"Hey." She responded, holding out her closest hand to him.

Charlie sat down in the chair pulled up to the bed, gripping her hand.

"How do you feel?"

"I feel okay."

Tentatively, he raised his free hand toward her. She pulled her shirt back, revealing the bare skin, of her stomach. His palm fell square in the center, and lightly caressed the warm skin.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked.

She sighed and leaned her head back, "What's there to say?"

"Amita, for what it's worth, I'm still really glad we have this one."

"So am I. I don't want to think about what would happen if we lost both of them."

"Let's not then."

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"Doctors?" Dr. Matthew walked back into the exam room, "How are you two?"

"I think we're good." Charlie smiled. His hand hadn't left Amita's stomach.

Grinning sympathetically, she walked over to the counter, "Okay, I'm going to do the follow up ultra sound."

She flipped on the equipment, placed the gel on Amita's abdomen, though Charlie's hand was loathe to leave it, and began to perform the ultrasound.

"Well, I believe that the baby must be three to four months along, appears to be doing well." She pointed to a small area on the screen. "There's your baby."

While Charlie and Amita admired the screen, another doctor walked in. Matthews nodded to her, "This is Dr. Wolfe, she's a specialist in OBGYN and a personal friend of mine. I've assigned her to take care of you."

Dr. Matthews left and Dr. Wolfe shook both their hands, "Have any ideas for names yet?"


	11. Chapter 11: Reasons

Chapter 11: Reasons

About a week later, Don, Colby, and David all returned to work. They met out in the hallway.

"I can't go on any active runs for about another week, but I can do all the normal stuff around here." Joked Don.

They all grinned.

"Well, I heard that Megan's doing well."

"Yeah. Once her leave is up, she's gonna come back to office, but I think it'll be sometime before we'll see her on raids."

They continued walking towards Don's office. A few of the workers were looking intently at him as he passed by them. 

He leaned back to his friends, "Is there something I don't know about?"

Both them looked at each other, "You got some mail while you were away."

Don turned the corner to his office.

It was full of cards and gift baskets. He grinned, "Are these from everyone here?"

"No, we're having our own party for all of you guys when Megan comes back."

"Then who is all of this from?"

David handed him the stack of letters and he flipped through them, "There are 16 here."

Taking a minute, he counted the number of gifts in his office, "16."

"The other agents sent their thanks to you for stopping those two."

Don gave some of the baskets to Colby and David, and set some aside for Megan. He would give them to her when he visited her after work.

There were two he saved for himself and his father, and another two for Charlie and Amita. He thought it would make a perfect congratulations gift. Another couple of the baskets became the company property, especially for those agents who'd forgotten their money for snacks.

His two fellow agents pulled up chairs and they all sat around in a circle. Each of them had a stack of letters to open.

Colby began, "To Agent Eppes and his team, I would like to thank you for catching my old partner. I could never forgive myself, but at least my sister is at peace. Agent Lassen, New York." 

There was a picture of a family at a graduation ceremony. A gentleman in a suit stood with two older individuals. The gentleman, who was Agent Lassen, had his arm around his sister. She was in the traditional black robe, her cap askew, diploma in her upraised hand.

"Anderson's partner's kid sister." Mentioned Don, setting the photo on the clear area on his desk.

"Look at this one." David held up another photo. There was a young man and his two parents. 

"Who's that?"

"Nicholas Davidson. The letter says that his younger brother had missed being in this photo."

There was a silence before Don looked away from the picture, "Have they found anything else?"

"Yeah, they found Anderson and Davidson's hideout. They're gonna send the heads back to the families for proper burial."

"What about a motive?"

"There's evidence that Anderson may have been discharged from the FBI for practices unbecoming of an agent. Davidson was being treated for anger issues."

"That's it?"

"Yeah."

"I guess she was right. There isn't always a method to madness."

"I have to think he'd have a reason to kill his own brother."

"Maybe inheritance?" Don took a deep breath, "It really makes you realize how important your siblings are."

David and Colby nodded, "Speaking of siblings, how is Charlie?"

"He's doing good. He convinced Amita to move into the house with him and our father, and I'm pretty sure it'll only be a few days before he asks her to marry him."

Both men grinned, "He really loves that girl."

"You know, he's had the ring for over a month now. I think this whole thing really made up his mind."

"Well, an experience like that will certainly bring some things into perspective."

A young agent walked up and took Colby and David away.

Don turned back around and faced the computer. Glancing to the side, he noticed a picture of himself and Charlie with their dad. He picked the photo up and stared at it for the longest time.

When he finally had to set it back down and return to work, there was a slight smile on his face that could not be tampered with for the rest of the day. 


	12. Chapter 12: Epilogue

**Epilogue:**

* * *

Dr. Matthews pager went off and she looked down at the number. Her feet pounded the linoleum floors all the way to the elevator. Dr. Wolfe was already waiting inside.

"When did you get the call?"

"About fifteen minutes ago, but I was busy until just about ten seconds ago."

She grinned at her friend, "Excited?"

"Yeah, I guess so. This is a little more usual to me."

"I know."

"So when do you go home?"

"As soon as this is over,"

"You hung around just for this?"

"Yeah, didn't you?"

"Well, this is what I was sent for. I thought maybe you had family out here or something."

"No, I'm just thrilled by the concept."

Stepping off the elevator together, they took off at a brisk pace for the room that Dr. Wolfe indicated. A nurse who was leaving held the door open for them. Both of them nodded at her, while they stepped past the frame.

Inside, they greeted the waiting pair, "Dr. Eppes, Dr. Ramanujan."

Amita looked over at them, "Actually, it's Dr. Eppes and Dr. Eppes now. My degree still says Dr. Ramanujan, but – " She was cut off by the shock of pain.

Charlie was instantly at her side. Dr. Wolfe had to smirk at his behavior, "It always follows that the most logical of people suddenly get the most emotional at moments like these."

He gave her a look of confusion, "She's having a baby!"

"I know, I've delivered over 2,000 of them."

A part of the high strung young man was relaxed at this statement.

Dr. Matthews put her hand on his shoulder, "After everything you've gone through, we won't let you lose this baby."

"There aren't any complications that I can see. How far apart are the contractions?"

"A minute, less." Groaned Amita.

Checking her dilation, the OBGYN nodded at the couple, I would say that it'll only be another minute or so."

"To what?" Asked a semi-bewildered Charlie.

"She'll have to start pushing."

"Oh."

Despite her situation, Amita still had the energy to be amused at her husband's lack of knowledge on a more commonly known subject than P vs. NP.

He relied on what the nurses had told him were the most appropriate things to do. For the next few minutes, he fed Amita ice chips and let her squeeze his hand to the point of nearly breaking.

At one point, someone asked him if he knew what gender the baby was, and he half-responded that he didn't want to know, that he and Amita wanted a surprise. More or less, they didn't care, they just wanted this baby.

Once Dr. Wolfe and Dr. Matthews returned, a nurse took Charlie to get washed up in preparation while they observed Amita.

He was returned quickly, as the nurse was paged, and, nearly in a stupor of wonderment, confusion, and the abilities of what a mathematically programmed mind could comprehend, he went to his wife's side.

Trying his best to comfort Amita, he concentrated all his energy on her. A few times, he contemplated the statistical probability of her actually crushing his hand.

After a few minutes of this, Dr. Wolfe laid a crying infant on Amita's chest. The former Dr. Ramanujan was in tears herself. She hugged the newborn to her.

"It's a boy!"

Charlie was staring in amazement at this new person, when Dr. Matthews got his attention, "You wanna cut the cord, dad?"

She handed him the scissors and he took a glance at Amita before he used them. Lifting her eyes from their son to him, she gave him the same first smile she'd given him when they first met. A smile of contentment and love. Not looking away, he cut the cord perfectly and went back to her.

One of the assistant nurses scooped up the baby and took him to be cleaned and for them to get the traditional measurements.

Leaning down, he engaged Amita in a long and tender kiss.

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Don and Alan stood up as Larry helped Megan into the waiting room. Megan was still using a wheelchair, but her progress was more than promising.

"Have you heard anything yet?" Asked Megan.

"Not yet."

"How long have you been here?"

"Only about an hour. Charlie didn't have us come in until everything was close to being over."

"You excited?"

Both men grinned, "Yeah, my first grandchild." Remarked Alan.

Don shook his head, "I just can't believe Charlie and Amita are having a kid."

"Excuse me?" A nurse came through the doors, "You're the family?"

They all nodded, even Larry, who assumed Charlie to be a bit of his own brother in some aspects.

She motioned for them to follow her, "Please come with me."

"Is everything okay?"

"Oh yes! The baby's here."

Amita had been moved into a recovery room. When the family and friends, entered, they saw her sitting up in bed, smiling widely and gazing over at Charlie.

Charlie had his back to them, but turned when he heard his brother's voice. In his arms, wrapped in a blue and white blanket was his and Amita's son.

"Do I have a niece or a nephew?" Asked Don.

"Nephew," Replied Charlie, "We had a boy."

They all crowded around, congratulating, laughing, each holding the infant in their own turn. The child was quiet, like his parents, and seemed to continue in his likeness of them by observing each new person with curiousity.

"You know," Larry pointed his finger at the child in his uncle's arms, "A good amount of research has suggested that the intellectual capabilities of a child are often determined by the capabilities of the parents. With Charlie's unique prodigy capabilities, and Amita's more traditional, but extremely exceptional, mental development, this could be an extraordinary little boy."

"Well, genius or not, I think he's got two wonderful, loving parents." Stated Alan, throwing his arm around the shoulders of his younger son.

Charlie grinned and looked over at Amita.

Don nodded, rocking the baby gently, "After all that, no doubts here."

Sitting down on the bed next to his wife, Charlie and Amita watched their friends and relatives coo over the child. Larry was perhaps the most interesting one to watch. He didn't have the child in his arms for more than two minutes before he began an analysis of the child's features,

Surprisingly, everyone listened intently, "Now, if you look at his nose, the lines will tell you that this is from Amita, however, the eyes, the curvature around the corners, suggests more of Charlie's influence…"

Alan listened amused, he liked Larry as a person, especially how the man could see anything from angles and lines when he had a perfectly good baby to look at.

Megan finally asked the question everyone realized that they had forgotten to ask the moment it left her mouth, "What's the little guy's name?"

Charlie squeezed Amita's hand and looked at her. She smiled back, "We're going to call him Atal. It's an Indian name."

"Does it have any meanings?"

There was a nod and the look on her face became one of great conviction, "It means stable, unavoidable."

The gravity of the name was felt around the room, but it was appropriate.

"What's his full name?"

"Atal Donald Eppes." Recited Charlie and the two brothers locked eyes for a minute, "You were right Don. If it hadn't been for you and the team, we wouldn't have gotten out of there. Amita and I thought that he should have your name for his middle name."

The family moment was interrupted by the entrance of Drs. Matthews and Wolfe, "How's everyone?"

A chorus of joyful responses greeted them, "Well, Dr. Wolfe and I are heading back home. Since the little guy here is perfectly healthy, we're gonna hand over the care to one of the doctors here."

Megan turned to her, "Can I have your address? I want to send you something for all the work you've done for me."

"Don't worry about it; I did this all as a favor."

"A favor?"

"Yes. Word got around in the offices, and among prodigies, I might add, that the case had fallen on the doorstep of Agent Eppes, and Dr. Charlie Eppes; a pair yet to be defeated. Once I learned that the former Dr. Ramanujan here was pregnant, I grabbed Dr. Wolfe and we flew out here."

"But why did you owe us anything?"

"Anderson killed my sister."

"Really?"

She nodded, "My name is actually Dr. Lassen."

They all remembered that Anderson's boss in New York was Agent Lassen, "Huh." Remarked Don, tilting his head slightly, "So, your older brother is an agent, and you're a medical prodigy."

She gave him a satisfied grin, "Just tell me that I couldn't feel some kind of connection."

Larry gestured toward her, "We're sorry about your sister."

Her eyes went to the ground, "I know. My brother is taking the whole thing really hard. He blames himself, you know?"

Don nodded.

Raising her eyebrows, she continued, "A team like the one you have, seemed to me to be one likely to succeed. I couldn't help with the case obviously, but I figured that any medical care I could offer would be of help."

Dr. Lassen stepped back and Dr. Wolfe went with her, "If you're ever in New York."

They all nodded and said their goodbyes.

Once the pair of doctors had gone, a nurse that had observed the encounter brought over a couple of forms for Charlie and Amita to sign.

"Those two are very modest."

"Yeah."

"The other doctors said that Agent Reeves would never have walked again if she hadn't worked with the surgeons."

Megan looked surprised, "Really?"

"There was a lot that we didn't tell you, we wanted you to keep a good attitude about it. Haven't any of you ever heard of Dr. Wolfe?"

"No, not really."

"She's been developing a ton of methods to prevent miscarriages. One of the ones she brought with her saved the baby."

When the nurse exited the room, she left everyone in shock. Neither Don nor Charlie held much to luck for an explanation of things.

Alan took his grandson in his arms and looked at them all, "You know, a lot of people went through an awful lot for this little guy here."

Charlie kissed Amita, "I think he was definitely worth it."

With her husband at her side, her new son with his grandfather, and a support system of people that one could only dream of, Amita nodded in agreement.

"His life was unavoidable."


End file.
